Holopursuits
by Lady Arreya
Summary: Takes place after "Barge of the Dead," just before "Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy." The Doctor's new holoprogram causes problems between Tom and B'Elanna. AU, P/T.


Originally written Sept 1999

Title: Holo-Pursuits  
Rating: T  
Summary: Takes place after "Barge of the Dead," just before "Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy." The Doctor's new holoprogram causes problems between Tom and B'Elanna. AU, P/T.

A/N: A very silly little story about a silly misunderstanding. Inspired by Bob Picardo and RDM's 1999 convention appearances. I wrote this story before "Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy" aired. Bob Picardo stated that in that upcoming episode the Doc has this fantasy holoprogram where all the women are in love with him. After seeing the episode, I realize that's not entirely accurate, but it's still funny anyway. :)

* * *

Tom stood just outside Holodeck Two, feeling a little apprehensive.

B'Elanna had asked him to meet her there. She wanted to talk.

They hadn't been spending much time together lately, what with all that had been going on: the destruction of the Equinox, transitions because of the new crewmembers, the encounter with Borg who had been disconnected from the Collective... and B'Elanna's recent spiritual journey.

She had been so distant lately, and she hadn't told him anything. That bothered him, because he suspected that she had been going to Chakotay instead. She frequently turned to Chakotay for advice, which was still a sore point for Tom. It made him feel like she didn't trust him, like she was pushing him away.

Of course it made sense that she would talk to Chakotay about spiritual journeys, but that didn't lessen the blow very much. It still hurt.

But he tried not to think about that, because he was hopeful that she had summoned him here because she wanted to confide in him.

He was a few minutes early, but the program was already running, so he took a deep breath and entered...

...and found himself in a place he'd never been in before. A lush garden, with flowers of every color and texture imaginable. Towering trees provided shelter from the bright sunlight, and in the center of the garden stood a white gazebo. Nearby was a quaint country cottage.

_Must be a new program._

It seemed like a very peaceful, romantic setting, which reassured him immensely. When B'Elanna had asked him to meet her on the holodeck, he hadn't been sure what to expect. Knowing B'Elanna, it could have been anything from Klingon martial arts to the beaches of Tahiti.

Tom followed the winding path, looking for B'Elanna. After passing the rosebushes, he found her sitting on an elegant park bench near a secluded grove of trees, looking contemplative.

He approached slowly, giving her time to notice his arrival, but she was so lost in thought that she didn't notice.

"B'Elanna?" he said softly, so as not to startle her.

She turned to look at him. The solemn expression on her face didn't allay his nervousness any. She wasn't smiling.

"Hello, Tom."

Awkward silence hung between them heavily.

"Is this a new program?" he ventured.

She nodded.

He looked around, spotting an artists' easel nearby. Canvas, paint, brushes and a vacant chair, too.

"What's that for?"

She smiled brightly. "The Doctor's taken up painting as his latest hobby. He was looking for human models... so I agreed to sit for him."

Tom was certainly surprised to hear that. B'Elanna had agreed to let the Doctor paint her portrait? She didn't even like it when he tried to take pictures of her with his holoimager! She had almost broken his camera again just last week for that very reason.

But then Tom remembered that B'Elanna and the Doc had had a long talk about that incident, and cleared up a lot of misunderstandings. Perhaps this was a symbolic gesture of peace on her part.

"He's so interested in cultivating his creativity, and I think that's wonderful," she continued. "Opera, cinema, poetry, photography, and now painting... "

"Yeah," he said unenthusiastically, wondering where this conversation was going.

"We're going to get together sometime to practice Klingon opera."

Tom made a face. Klingon opera was one of the few aspects of Klingon culture that he just couldn't stand.

Actually, he didn't really like opera of any kind. He much preferred 20th century rock n' roll.

"Seems like a waste of time to me," he commented before he could stop himself.

She shot him a look of annoyance. "It's better than 'Captain Proton.'"

Ouch. That hurt.

B'Elanna wasn't done yet. "I never realized just how multi-talented the Doctor is. He's become so much more than the computer subroutines he started out as. Always growing, always developing..."

He stared at her. _That must have been some talk..._

"You know, you could learn a lot from him." She smiled again. "He'll be here any minute now."

"I thought you wanted to talk to me," Tom said with a frown.

Shrugging indifferently, she told him, "I don't have that much to say."

Uh-oh, that didn't sound good, he thought anxiously.

"Are you saying you'd rather spend time with the Doc instead of me?" he asked, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible.

"What's wrong with wanting to spend time with the Doctor?" she asked defensively. "He's brilliant, sensitive, witty, cultured, mature... "

"And... I'm not?"

She shrugged. "You said it, not me."

He was stunned. "B'Elanna... what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you and I don't have that much in common. And let's face it: our relationship just isn't as exciting as it used to be."

That left him speechless. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Their relationship wasn't exciting anymore? She was kidding, right?

Certainly their relationship had stabilized, but that didn't mean it was boring... did it?

He didn't think so, but perhaps she felt differently. Especially after all that she had been through. Whatever that was.

That was what she had just said, wasn't it? That she was bored with their relationship. With him.

"So maybe we shouldn't see each other anymore," she concluded pleasantly.

That said, she closed her eyes, folded her hands in her lap, and resumed her pose of casual indifference.

This couldn't be happening, he thought numbly.

But that was it. She didn't have any more to say. He was dismissed.

Pain...

He had to get out of there. Fast.

* * *

A little while later, Tom found himself at Harry's quarters. He had to talk to someone.

"Hi, Tom," Harry said cheerfully.

"Harry."

Harry stared at his best friend, astonished to see him in such a sorry state. "What's wrong? I thought you had a date with B'Elanna."

"We broke up," he said flatly.

"What?" asked Harry, not sure that he had heard correctly.

"She dumped me."

"She dumped you?" Harry echoed incredulously.

Tom turned away, overwhelmed by a fresh wave of pain. "I don't want to talk about it."

Harry shook his head in confusion, unwilling to leave it at that but not knowing what to say. Still, he knew he had to say something. He was convinced that Tom did want to talk about it; he just needed some prodding.

"Tom, what happened?"

"It was only a matter of time," Tom said bitterly. "I mean, why would she want to be with a loser like me?"

Harry was shocked. "Is that what she said?"

"According to her, I'm immature, insensitive, uncultured, boring... Take your pick."

"She said that?"

"Not only that. She also informed me that our relationship wasn't exciting anymore." He buried his head in his hands. "And maybe she's right," he muttered. "About everything."

Harry frowned. He knew that Tom was still dealing with residual doubts from the perceived threat of when B'Elanna's ex-boyfriend, Commander Max Burke of the Equinox, had entered the picture not too long ago.

Although B'Elanna had reassured Tom that there was nothing more than friendship between her and Burke, Tom had sunk into an uncharacteristic bout of insecurity and jealousy, evaluating all of his inadequacies, comparing himself to Burke, and not without reason. It was clear that B'Elanna still harbored affection for Burke, and it was no secret that Burke had been pursuing her.

Even after Burke had perished in a grim battle with the interdimensional aliens, the issue hadn't gone away completely. B'Elanna had taken his death hard. Despite all the atrocities the Equinox had committed, despite Burke's role in all that... she couldn't completely condemn him. She had been too fond of him for that.

And Tom couldn't understand that.

Harry wasn't sure he understood either.

But that didn't really matter right now. What mattered was getting to the bottom of this.

It still didn't add up. Although B'Elanna had gone through a lot lately and had withdrawn from her friends, including Tom, Harry couldn't fathom why B'Elanna would want to break up with Tom. He highly doubted that she actually intended to. It was possible that Tom had fallen prey to his insecurity and misinterpreted their conversation.

But... even if Tom had merely misinterpreted B'Elanna's words and jumped to conclusions, _something_ must have happened between them to set this off.

And it was up to him to figure out exactly what had happened.

"Tell me everything," said Harry, gently but firmly. "I want to know what's going on."

* * *

B'Elanna sat down by the fountain in the center of the garden, admiring her new program. A quiet, secluded setting where she and Tom could talk uninterrupted.

She had a lot on her mind and wanted to share it with him.

As the minutes slowly passed, her mind began to wander. Her recent spiritual venture into Klingon afterlife had shaken her up. It had only confirmed what she had always suspected, that she didn't fit in all that well with other Klingons. She had seen up close the dark side of having a Klingon temper and that kind of aggressiveness.

What scared her was that she herself had the potential to become that destructive as well. She was emotionally volatile and constantly struggling to control her temper. It was a miracle that she hadn't scared Tom away by now.

Fortunately, Tom was actually very patient when it came to dealing with her temper and her mood swings, she thought with a faint smile.

B'Elanna stared at the chronometer and frowned, realizing that it was already fifteen minutes past their designated meeting time. She had gotten there a little late herself, but Tom was usually prompt, so she was surprised that he hadn't shown up yet.

After another ten minutes, Tom still hadn't shown up, and she was starting to get worried. It wasn't like him to be this late. Not without good reason.

She was willing to wait for him, but... something seemed wrong.

He knew how important this was. To her, to them. They needed to talk.

He couldn't be avoiding her, could he?

Though she hadn't seen much of him lately, he hadn't given her any indication that anything was wrong.

B'Elanna finally got up. "Computer, end program." She left the holodeck, determined to find him.

Rounding the corner, she nearly crashed into Chakotay.

"Whoa, where's the fire?"

She ignored his teasing comment. "Have you seen Tom?" she asked distractedly.

Chakotay shook his head. "Not since he left the Bridge at the end of his shift."

She frowned pensively.

He studied her closely, sensing something amiss. "Everything okay?"

"Yes. No. I don't know..." She bit her lip.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Yeah... but not now. Right now I have to talk to Tom."

"Okay, okay. Let's find him. Computer, location of Tom Paris?"

"Tom Paris is in Harry Kim's quarters," the computer replied.

B'Elanna instantly headed off in that direction. Chakotay followed after a moment's hesitation, still concerned.

* * *

Harry answered the door, looking astonished to see B'Elanna and Chakotay standing there.

B'Elanna looked past him, expecting to see Tom... but he wasn't there.

"Where's Tom?"

Harry frowned. "He just left."

"Where's he going? I have to talk to him."

"He doesn't want to talk to you."

"He doesn't want to talk to me?" she repeated in disbelief.

"You really hurt his feelings, B'Elanna... telling him that he's immature, insensitive, uncultured ..."

"WHAT? Is that what he told you? That... that pig! He has a lot of nerve!" she fumed. "Standing me up... and then spreading lies like that..."

He started. "You mean you didn't break it off?"

"Oh, I'm definitely going to break _something_ off when I see him again!" she shouted.

Harry shook his head slowly. Something wasn't right. Tom had definitely said that B'Elanna had dumped him, but she seemed genuinely perplexed. Not to mention outraged.

Chakotay stepped in. "I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding," he said soothingly to B'Elanna.

Before he could say more, her commbadge chirped.

"Engineering to Lieutenant Torres."

Cursing, B'Elanna smacked her commbadge. "Torres here."

"Um... we're having a bit of a crisis down here... "

"Can't this wait?" she interrupted impatiently.

"No, I don't think so... Not unless you want to eject the warp core. We're having a hard time setting up a stable containment field..."

She blanched, remembering what had happened the last time they'd had to eject the warp core.

"I'll be right there." With that, she dashed off to Main Engineering. Everything else would have to wait.

Harry and Chakotay were left staring at each other worriedly.

"What happened?" Chakotay asked.

Harry shook his head slowly. "Tom was in pretty bad shape. He told me that B'Elanna broke up with him."

Chakotay frowned. "I don't think B'Elanna knows that."

Harry didn't know what to think. Sighing, he said, "None of this makes any sense."

* * *

Tom had headed over to Sickbay to pick up some medical texts that the Doctor had prepared for him.

At the moment, the Doctor was lecturing him on how he should take his medical duties more seriously. Tom nodded half-heartedly from time to time, not really listening. He was still trying to figure out what had gone wrong between him and B'Elanna...

"Mr. Paris."

No response.

"Mr. Paris," the Doctor repeated, a little more loudly.

Tom snapped out of his reverie. "Did you say something, Doc?"

"Is everything all right, Mr. Paris?"

He shrugged noncommittally, but his expression was melancholy.

"What's on your mind?"

He was silent for a moment, then simply said, "B'Elanna."

"Ah. I see." The Doctor deduced that they must have had another one of their legendary arguments. Nothing to worry about, as they would no doubt make up by the end of the day.

Tom's expression drooped further. "I'm sure you already know why. She must have told you earlier..."

The Doctor gave him a confused look.

"While you were painting her portrait," Tom clarified.

He did a double-take. _ Painting her portrait? _Uh-oh... how did Tom know about that? No one was supposed to know about that... Was this Tom's way of telling him that the game was up?

"Uh... I'm... not exactly sure what you're referring to, Mr. Paris," the Doctor hedged guiltily, attempting to look as innocent as possible.

Tom shot him an accusing glare. "Don't give me the innocent routine, Doc. I know all about it. The garden, the painting, the Klingon opera... Everything."

"Everything?" the Doctor echoed faintly, trying not to cringe.

_He must have gone in there when my new holoprogram was still running,_ the Doctor suddenly realized, overcome with panic...

Because he wasn't supposed to create holograms of real people without their express permission. It was a violation of privacy otherwise.

The Doc shuddered. He hated to think what B'Elanna might do to him if she ever found out that he had programmed a hologram of her for his new holoprogram...

"I went to meet her on the holodeck..." Tom continued, "and she told me she was waiting for you... and that she'd rather spend time with you instead of with me," he mumbled almost as an afterthought. He was growing more downcast by the moment.

_What?_ Now the Doctor was really confused. Why was Tom talking about all this as though it were real?

Then it suddenly occurred to him: Tom really thought it had been _real_. All of it.

The Doctor gave a short sigh of relief. He was safe. For the moment.

But it was only a matter of time before the truth came out, so he had to figure out a good explanation for all of this.

Until he did, he would have to make sure that Tom and B'Elanna didn't find each other.

The Doctor thought quickly about what to do. It would be best to keep Tom occupied in Sickbay for as long as he could, he finally decided.

"Mr. Paris. I can assure you that I am not the slightest bit romantically interested in Lieutenant Torres," the Doctor said firmly.

Tom looked up. "Really?" Maybe there was hope after all. Maybe he could win B'Elanna back...

"Really. I, ah, certainly enjoy her company, but my affections lie elsewhere." _And her name is Seven of Nine,_ the Doctor silently added to himself. "But perhaps I could be of help to you..."

"B'Elanna did say I could learn a lot from you," Tom said slowly, thinking it over.

The Doctor beamed, clearly flattered. "Did she now?" Never mind that it had merely been part of his new holoprogram.

"Yeah."

"Did she say anything else about me?" the Doctor couldn't resist asking.

Tom frowned a little. "She said that you're witty, cultured, sensitive... and she admires your creativity."

The Doctor's smile grew wider. He was feeling rather pleased with himself.

"Well, all right, then. Why don't you help me with this medical experiment first, Mr. Paris, and then we'll get started on the other lessons."

* * *

After explaining the situation to Chakotay, Harry had gone over to Main Engineering.

The emergency was pretty much taken care of, but B'Elanna refused to leave.

By now, she was more upset than angry with Tom. "If he's just going to run away from me whenever things get difficult... " She couldn't finish.

"I don't think he's running away from you, B'Elanna."

She glared at him. "Then what would you call it?"

"I... I don't know." Harry shrugged helplessly. "I'm just as puzzled as you are. But I still think that this is just a result of miscommunication, and that you should talk to Tom."

"I don't want to talk to him," she said stubbornly. "Besides, he doesn't want to talk to me. You said so yourself."

"B'Elanna, please... be reasonable..."

Her temper flared. "I don't want to talk to you either, Harry."

Harry gave a frustrated sigh. This was not going well, and he was still clueless as to what had precipitated this latest altercation between Tom and B'Elanna. Neither he nor Chakotay had been able to come up with a plausible explanation for the discrepancy between what Tom had told them and what B'Elanna had told them.

"Fine. But if you won't talk to me, at least go talk to Chakotay. Please."

With that, he left to go find Tom.

B'Elanna sighed. She supposed she could do that, talk to Chakotay. She had to admit that it usually made her feel a lot better to talk to him. Chakotay wasn't afraid to confront difficult emotional issues. Unlike Tom.

Tom had a tendency to avoid emotional issues. He wasn't all that comfortable with talking about his feelings. Like when they had been having problems during Voyager's journey though the Void. They had both been irritable, always snapping at each other. She had been especially irascible, because the strain had only exacerbated her deepening depression. But instead of trying to work through their difficulties, Tom had resorted to attempts at humor, and escapism by spending all his time in the Captain Proton holoprogram.

B'Elanna grew increasingly uneasy as she remembered how that had turned out. The whole time she had been going through her depression, being completely self-destructive... Tom had mostly pretended that nothing was wrong. He hadn't noticed how bad it had gotten until it was almost too late.

She might not have recovered if it hadn't been for Chakotay. He had been tough, but fair.

Tom hadn't made that kind of effort. Even though she had been pushing him away... she kind of felt that he had given up too easily. He hadn't tried hard enough.

Whenever he had pushed her away, she had insisted that he tell her what was going on, talk to her until they had resolved it sufficiently.

But Tom didn't handle it well when she pushed him away. He would withdraw as well. Every time.

And that frustrated her. It felt unbalanced, like he didn't care as much as she did.

She thought of another example and became upset all over again.

When Max had shown up with the Equinox... she knew that Tom had been jealous of Max. But he had refused to admit it. Hadn't wanted to talk about it. Had avoided his feelings instead. Denied everything.

And now this. Just when she needed him most...

He was avoiding her.

* * *

By the time Harry reached Sickbay, Tom had already left.

"Mr. Kim... please state the nature of the medical emergency," the Doctor greeted him, a little too jovially.

"Hi, Doc. Have you seen Tom?"

"You just missed him."

"Oh. Did he mention where he was headed?"

"Umm... No," he lied glibly. Actually, the Doctor had urged Tom to go to the holodeck to practice being "cultured," promising that he would talk to B'Elanna and send her over there shortly.

Harry frowned. "Okay... Thanks anyway."

"Where are you going?"

"To look for Tom."

"Why?"

"I have to talk some sense into him," Harry explained impatiently. "It's got to be easier than trying to talk some sense into B'Elanna," he muttered to himself.

But the Doctor heard anyway. And started to panic again. He had to detain Harry before he could find Tom.

As Harry turned to leave, the Doc hastily said, "Wait, don't go."

"Why not?"

"Um... well, we haven't talked in a while, you and I. I thought we could, uh, catch up."

"You want to 'catch up?' Now?"

The Doctor laughed nervously. "No time like that present."

Harry stared at him.

"So how's everything with you, Harry?"

"Wonderful. Just wonderful," he said, unable to contain his sarcasm. "Couldn't be better." This was getting ridiculous. His best friends were having yet another fight over something trivial, he was stuck in the middle of it, and now the Doctor wanted to "catch up" because he was in one of his chatty moods.

"And how are the plans for the upcoming concert coming along? Have you been practicing with the rest of the Voyager quartet?"

Harry looked at the Doctor suspiciously_. Why do I get the feeling he's trying to stall me?_ But he answered, "Yeah. It's going great."

_Uh-oh... Harry suspects something,_ the Doctor thought anxiously. _Better come up with something more believable to distract him..._

"Actually... I was thinking of... of asking someone to accompany me to the concert. Would you happen to have any, uh, suggestions for, um... for how I should go about asking her?"

"You're asking me for romantic advice?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Romantic advice. Of course. I've... I've developed feelings for a particular lady... and..."

"Someone on the senior staff?" Harry guessed, hoping with all his might that the Doctor would say no.

"How did you know?"

"Lucky guess."

The Doctor nodded, then continued, "I've worked with her closely, gotten to know her better over the years... and I've come to feel very strongly about her..."

This was getting dangerously personal, but he couldn't think of anything else to say that would sound convincing enough.

"She's extraordinarily beautiful, highly intelligent, strong, independent, technically-inclined, and she shares many of my interests..."

"Uh-huh." Harry had a terrible feeling that he knew exactly whom the Doctor was referring to.

"She can be a bit abrupt at times, but... that doesn't bother me. I find it... stimulating."

Harry was trying not to wince. This was sounding all too familiar.

"And I know she's rather fond of me as well, though she has a strange way of showing it sometimes. I think she would be receptive if I asked her to the concert. After all, she's not seeing anyone right now. At least... not anymore."

Harry's heart sank. This had to be a nightmare... the Doctor and... B'Elanna?

It couldn't be. But it had to be. She fit the description perfectly. And it was consistent with everything that she had told Tom about wanting to break up with him and wanting to spend more time with the Doctor.

He had hoped with all his heart that it wasn't true, but now...

One thing was for certain. Tom would be heartbroken beyond recovery.

Harry couldn't believe that the Doctor could be so callous. He knew that Tom and the Doctor weren't exactly the best of friends, but this kind of cruelty was inexcusable. And he felt obligated to let the Doc know that. Perhaps it would make him feel guilty enough to give up his pursuit of B'Elanna.

"Doc... " he began.

"Yes?"

"Have you thought at all about what this is going to do to Tom?"

The Doctor gave him a puzzled look. "What does any of this have to do with Mr. Paris?"

"There's no way that he'll be able to even look at you, much less be around you all the time in Sickbay. He'll have a breakdown!"

"A breakdown?"

"And I wouldn't blame him. It's more than anyone could stand."

The Doctor frowned and scratched his head in bewilderment. "Mr. Kim... what are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about?" he asked incredulously. "I'm talking about you and B'Elanna, what else?"

"B'Elanna?" The Doctor looked horrified. "You think that... that B'Elanna and I... that we..." he sputtered.

"You weren't talking about B'Elanna, the extraordinarily beautiful, highly intelligent, strong, independent, technically-inclined senior officer who isn't currently seeing anyone because she just broke up with Tom?"

"No, no, no," the Doctor said hastily. "I wasn't talking about B'Elanna. I was talking about Seven."

Temporarily at a loss for words, Harry could only stare at him. This was getting more confusing by the second.

"Doc. I want to know what's going on, and I want to know NOW."

"Okay, okay." He had no choice but to relent. "I kind of have a new holoprogram," he confessed. "Mr. Paris walked into it without realizing... "

"What kind of program is this?"

"It's my painting studio... and the surrounding gardens. He must have started talking to the B'Elanna hologram I programmed and thought she was real."

"Okay, that makes more sense. But Doc... why would you put B'Elanna in this program?"

He shrugged helplessly. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

Harry crossed his arms and glared at him. "I'm waiting for an explanation."

"All right, all right. No need to get belligerent," the Doctor sniffed. "I've taken up painting as a hobby... and I need to practice painting the human figure. Holograms are far more patient than humans. And since Lieutenant Torres and I have been making such progress lately, I selected her because... because she's less intimidating than Seven."

_That's debatable,_ Harry thought to himself. B'Elanna could be quite intimidating when she wanted to be. But he supposed the Doctor meant that he wasn't in love with B'Elanna and therefore didn't find her as unapproachable as Seven... whom he was in love with. Which made sense. In a bizarre sort of way.

But that still didn't explain everything.

"Fine," said Harry. "But why did your holographic version of B'Elanna dump Tom?"

"Well, uh... I might have gotten a tad bit carried away," the Doctor admitted rather ruefully. "I programmed the characters to... to admire me, of course. And... You might have noticed that I have a tendency to...er... scoff at Mr. Paris. All in jest, of course. But perhaps that... uh... inadvertently carried over into my programming of the characters..."

"Great. Just great," Harry muttered. No wonder Tom had been so hurt. He could good-naturedly brush off deprecating comments from the Doctor, but not that easily if they came from B'Elanna.

"It wasn't my intention to cause strife between Tom and B'Elanna," the Doctor said in his own defense. "Besides, I insult Mr. Paris all the time and it doesn't seem to bother him in the slightest. So why should the acerbic nature of my new holoprogram bother him?"

Harry shook his head. "Of course Tom doesn't take you seriously when you say things like that... but he thought it was B'Elanna talking. The real B'Elanna."

"So?" The Doctor still didn't understand.

"Doc, how would you feel if Seven insulted you like that?"

His expression changed to one of chagrin. "Oh."

"Well, that's how Tom felt when he heard B'Elanna say all those terrible things about him."

* * *

B'Elanna was having serious doubts about her relationship with Tom, as she explained to Chakotay.

"I've been working on controlling my temper," she told him. "Meditation sessions, anger management, re-directing my negative emotions into more positive outlets..."

"Good," he said approvingly. "Sounds like you're making progress."

She nodded, then fell silent for a long moment. "I've been thinking... " she hesitated again.

"What is it?" he encouraged.

B'Elanna frowned. "Maybe... maybe I shouldn't be seeing Tom. Maybe I need to be with someone more... stable. Someone who de-fuses my temper instead of provoking it... "

"You think he provokes your temper?"

"Yeah... he likes my 'Klingon side,'" she said sardonically. "He encourages it."

"Well... there's nothing wrong with your 'Klingon side,' you know. It's a part of you. You don't have to suppress it."

"I'm not trying to suppress it. I'm trying to manage it so I'm not always lashing out at people and losing my temper... "

"That's good."

"But Tom always argues with me... and I end up losing my temper anyway. We clash too much. And it's not good for me. Or him."

"B'Elanna," Chakotay said patiently. "You need for him to challenge you like that. It brings you to your senses. I think you know that."

She still looked confused and vulnerable. "Maybe. I don't know."

"The two of you complement each other well. You're good for each other."

"But we fight all the time..."

"But you always make up," he pointed out.

"That's true," she allowed with a slight smile.

"And you'd be miserable without him."

She nodded.

"So... it sounds like you don't really want to break up with Tom," Chakotay said, just to confirm.

"No, of course I don't want to break up with him."

"Okay. Just making sure."

B'Elanna smiled, looking happier than she had in a long time.

"Have you talked to him lately?" Chakotay thought to ask, still wondering what had initiated this latest crisis between Tom and B'Elanna.

She shook her head. "I haven't even seen him since the day before yesterday..."

Chakotay nodded. By now he was thoroughly convinced that something very strange was going on that they weren't entirely aware of, since there were still quite a few inconsistencies between B'Elanna's story and Tom's.

But he didn't tell B'Elanna what Harry had told him. He didn't want to upset her all over again.

"Talk to Tom," he suggested. "I'm sure the two of you can work this out."

"You really think so?"

"Definitely," he reassured her.

That made her feel better. She would hate to lose Tom... because she did love him more than anything, after all.

* * *

Harry finally found Tom in Sandrine's, drowning his troubles in synthehol. He raised an eyebrow. "So, is this your idea of becoming more 'cultured,' Tom?"

Tom looked up, squinting a bit, and eventually recognized Harry. He frowned. "I'm not in the mood to talk to you, Har. Go away."

"I thought you were waiting for B'Elanna so you could impress her with how cultured you've become."

"I've been here over an hour. She's obviously not coming," Tom said darkly before ordering another drink. "It's hopeless."

"Tom. Snap out of it. This is all just a silly misunderstanding. You have to talk to B'Elanna."

He shook his head. "She dumped me, remember? She doesn't want to talk to me," he slurred.

"She didn't dump you. She loves you and wants to talk to you," Harry told him, trying to contain his exasperation.

He snorted. "Yeah, right."

"I'm serious."

"You're wasting your time. She doesn't want me."

"Yes she does. And we're going to go find her so the two of you can straighten this out. RIGHT NOW," he added grimly, cutting off Tom's protest. "Computer, location of B'Elanna Torres."

"B'Elanna Torres is in Chakotay's quarters," the computer informed them.

_Uh-oh,_ Harry thought as he caught a glimpse of the stricken expression on Tom's face.

Tom started downing yet another drink. "She wanted someone more mature..." he mumbled miserably. "More sensitive... " This was just further evidence in his mind.

_Damn,_ Harry swore to himself. He was the one who had suggested that B'Elanna go talk to Chakotay. Who'd have guessed that she'd actually take his advice? Bad timing of the worst kind.

"It's over," Tom said hopelessly.

This would never do, Harry realized. There was only one person who could undo the damage, and that was the person whose fault this entire mess was.

He tapped his commbadge resolutely. "Kim to the Doctor."

There was a slight pause, and then... "Yes, Ensign?"

"Report to Holodeck Two."

"But..."

"NOW."

* * *

A half hour later, Tom was shaking his head in disbelief. "I was talking to a hologram of B'Elanna? Not the real B'Elanna?"

Harry and the Doctor exchanged glances. "Yes."

"You're not making this up, are you?" Tom asked suspiciously.

"Believe me, Mr. Paris, I wish I were making it up. But I'm not." Then at least he wouldn't have to worry about B'Elanna coming after him in all her fury.

"He's telling you the truth, Tom."

Tom seemed to accept that. He was silent for a while as he pondered everything that he had just been told.

"She seemed so real," he said at last.

"Well, Doc's a very thorough holoprogrammer," Harry commented. "And you were expecting to see the real B'Elanna."

"I guess." But it wasn't very comforting. He still felt really stupid about having mistaken a holographic projection for the real B'Elanna. And he was rather irritated that the Doc had made him go through that farce in Sickbay instead of telling him the truth.

However... Harry had assured him over and over again that B'Elanna didn't really want to break up with him. The real B'Elanna, at any rate. Doc's holographic B'Elanna was another story.

It did make him feel a little better, realizing that his relationship with B'Elanna was still salvageable.

Perhaps he had been too quick to assume the worst, Tom mused. Of course the Doctor was partly to blame for his role in all this, but Tom was at fault too. He shouldn't have allowed his insecurities to get the better of him.

"I'm sorry, Tom," the Doctor apologized, genuinely contrite.

_You should be,_ Harry thought sourly to himself. He had a headache from dealing with this mess.

But Tom seemed more inclined to forgive him. "It's okay, Doc."

"Really?"

"Really. I mean, we've all done some pretty crazy things in the name of love. I can understand."

The Doctor seemed touched. "That's very generous of you, Mr. Paris. Thank you."

Harry smiled. Now that that was settled, there was only one more thing left to do. He pressed his commbadge again.

"Kim to Chakotay."

"Chakotay here. What is it, Harry?"

"Commander, could you and B'Elanna please meet me on the holodeck?"

"We're on our way."

Moments later, they arrived at Holodeck Two as expected.

When B'Elanna saw Tom standing there, she hesitated.

Harry, the Doctor and Chakotay unobtrusively made their exit, leaving the two of them alone.

She had just made up her mind to demand an explanation for standing her up on their date... when he suddenly strode over to her, swept her into his arms and kissed her with crushing intensity.

"I love you, B'Elanna," he said fervently, kissing her again holding her tightly.

"I'm sorry about missing our date," he murmured in her ear.

She pulled back slightly and stared at him, perplexed. "Tom... What the hell is going on? First you stand me up, and now... "

He brushed his lips lightly along her forehead, gratified to feel her relax against him, into his embrace. "It was all a misunderstanding, B'Elanna. It's my fault. I was in the wrong program..."

She was even more confused. "The wrong program? What are you talking about?"

"I got to the holodeck early. There was already a program running, and I assumed it was yours... but it wasn't."

B'Elanna frowned, remembering that there had indeed been a program running on the holodeck when she had gotten there. But since no one had been in there, and she wasn't in the habit of intruding on other people's programs, vacant or not, she hadn't entered it. She had merely ended it and initiated her new program.

"What kind of program was this?"

"It's not important."

"But..."

"Shhh..."

Her expression grew cloudy as he kissed her again with all-consuming passion.

"I'll explain everything later, I promise," he whispered. "But right now... " He didn't finish the sentence, bending down to nuzzle her neck instead.

"Mmm... okay," she sighed, snuggling against him. "I love you."

Everything was going to be fine.

The End


End file.
